The Midweek Memoirs of Mr Bodell

No-one likes being criticised, no-one likes being mocked, jeered or made a show of. Least of all those who are performing in front of thousands. Take Gavin Mahon for example. Ever since I read the 'Fans View` report in the Watford Free, which had a small chunk about the booing of Gavin Mahon two weeks ago. It had however only come to my attention last Friday, so I`ve, for a change, known what I`m going to write about this week, for a few days!

I will make no bones about the fact I jeered when Gavin Mahon was substituted. That is to say, I got up, cheered [ironically] and clapped. Why? And who at?

First and foremost, my mock applause and ironic cheering was mainly due to the frustration of watching Watford being crushed by West Brom, but also rolled into my disappointment was the referee`s performance, the final straw being Mahon`s replacement. About time I though, and still do.

Although he wasn`t even having that bad a game, it made a nice change to see Boothroyd having the balls to actually replace his captain. Now I appreciate it`s not nice, I myself, as captain, was replaced on Sunday after having a poor game and I didn`t like it, but at the end of the day, being captain should not have any influence on whether you are replaced or not. The decision should be based on who is playing well, who isn`t and the options available to the manager in the shape of his subs` bench.

Now. Since first reading that article in the Watford Free I have read another article, I cannot remember where, but the author mentioned the fact Mahon has played of 200 games for the club, been through torrid times to get as far as he had in a Yellow shirt and accepted that 12% wage deferral.

Of course, I`m not disputing any of that. You can`t. Gavin Mahon has gone on a huge journey, and enormous transformation from 'that skinhead who trots around in midfield` to 'the skipper who dominates midfield`. I can remember the first time I saw Gavin Mahon live, the F.A Cup Quarter Final in 2003. Even back then, after a long period of knee trouble, he was booed by sections of the crowd, along with Sean Dyche.

Since then, it`s been on-off abuse. And I have to admit to being something of Gavin Mahon fan. I have always stuck up for him amongst mates who are Watford fans, and was particularly pleased to rub their noses in his superb form last season prior to Christmas. After that, I think you would do well to find someone who could disagree that his form took a spectacular nosedive. However, I supported him, unlike many. Don`t get me wrong, I`m not trying to get myself some brownie points here, I just want to put things in context.

So there`s my 'history with Gavin Mahon`.

The only players with any Watford connection I have ever booed or jeered or been abusive towards are Lee Cook and Neal Ardley, those both after departure. Oh, and David Conolly. Other than that, I support all those in yellow. Therefore, I think it fair to say that I should not be locked in a small room [I`ll explain in a minute].

I am not the sort of person to aimlessly boo, abuse and shout at people for the sake of it. I do sing/shout and abuse players and referees, but of my own accord, not because those around me are.

Therefore, I agree that those who booed Mahon, should be frowned upon, but I, ironically jeering Aidy, need to be excused. Anyway, the article I wanted to show, about locking people in small rooms, is as follows:

"If I had my way, I`d lock the muppets who cheered Mahon`s substitution up in a sealed room with the individuals in my neighbourhood who saw fit to release fireworks at midnight last night and throw away the key. Protecting the gene pool from terminal stupidity, y`see. The horror of the evolutionary potential of this sealed room is perhaps a concern, but in reality if its inhabitants ever worked out how to procreate the offspring would at least preserve the future of radio phone-ins. Which in turn keeps Victoria Derbyshire off the programmes that anyone ever actually listens to."